Monthly Archives: April 2007

Small engines revving the Indian small car market

Wondering why the Indian automobile market was suddenly being bombarded by small cars with small engines? The reason is simple। The Finance Minister P Chidambaram in India’s last budget plan of 2006-2007 reduced the excise duty on small cars from the then 24% to the now 16%. However, he had decided to retain the excise duty on large cars at 24%. Furthermore, excise duty on raw materials such as aluminum and plastic, which are used in manufacturing cars, also reduced.

Small cars were classified as those that are less than 4 metres in length and which consist of an engine under 1400 cc for petrol and 1500 cc for diesel। The immediate beneficiaries of this policy were Hyundai Santro, Tata Indica, Maruti 800, Maruti Alto, Maruti Swift, Maruti Wagon R, and Maruti Zen.

Suddenly the market was swarming with competitors scraping to launch a model of a small car with a small engine। The Hyundai Getz with its 1400 cc engine was revamped and released as the Getz Prime that sported a 1.1 litre or a 1.3 litre engine that fell under the small car duty excise helping the manufacturers cut the base variant car cost by 10,000, which was then transferred to the consumers. The Fiat Palio was redesigned and released with a 1.1 litre engine under the classification of Fiat Palio Stile, again so that the manufacturers could benefit from the excise duty. Maruti started slashing 12 to 25 thousand rupees for a range of its small cars. Hyundai and Tata did the same.

However, not all car manufacturers were happy with this new budget। Manufacturers of medium sized and luxury cars felt that they had been given a raw deal. Their reasoning was that most people who moved from using small cars to using medium sized cars did so because of their gradual increase in income and also because they could cope with the price difference. However, if small car prices decrease even further while medium sized car prices stay the same, then the margin of price difference is large enough to deter a consumer to shift from small cars to medium cars. Another reason that these manufacturers put forth was that a differential duty structure will lead to an uneven growth.

This year, the automobile sector wanted to ask the Indian government to further reduce excise duties for small cars from 16% to 12% and additionally reduce duties on large cars from 24% to 16%. However, their dreams were smashed to the ground in March 2007. The Finance Minister decided not to make any changes to the excise duty of cars and instead increased the prices for aluminum and plastic. This over the year 2007-2008 will force all car manufacturers to raise the prices of all their products regardless of size. Thus, this will reduce the currently booming purchase of small cars to a trickle unless car manufacturers and dealers can provide lucrative discounts or EMI plans to prospective buyers.

posted by admin @ Monday, April 30th, 2007 Comments Off links to this post
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Maruti introduces Immobilisers across all models

Maruti introduces Immobilisers across all models. Do you get sleepless nights worrying about the security of your car…that it might be stolen?? Well, if you are planning to buy a Maruti car now, then you can sleep away to your heart’s contentment without fretting about your car’s security anymore। Maruti Udyog, the biggest car-maker in the country, has introduced the engine immobiliser system as an option on all its models to prevent their theft. The introduction of immobilisers has been brought about by an increase in cases of car thefts. Once a car is lost, its recovery is very rare. So, security systems have become a necessity for cars.
The incorporation of engine immobiliser in a car will increase its price slightly but at least it’s better than losing the car itself. And anyway, the hike is going to be minimal, just about Rs. 3,000-3,500. People would not mind shelling out that extra amount for a device which will guard their car. But how an immobiliser can prevent a car’s theft, you might wonder. Here’s how…An immobiliser is a chip that will immobilise the car’s engine if it is not opened with its original key. It is the technique of cryptography that makes an immobiliser work. Actually, the car’s steering column has a base station unit, in which lies a chip. There is a similar chip in the car key as well. When the original key is inserted into the car’s key-slot, it transmits wireless message to the steering’s base station unit. The chip in the base station unit then uses a unique secret code to read this message.

If the message transmitted by the key’s chip matches the one stored in the base station unit’s chip, the car key is allowed to rotate and activate the starter motor। However, if the key fails to transmit the message or if the transmitted message and the one stored in the base station unit’s chip do not match, the connection between the key and starter motor is broken and the car does not start.

What’s more!! Even if the thief tries to figure out the exchange of wireless messages between the original key and the base station unit, it will be impossible for the thief to decode what’s there in the chip।

In case a car is tried to be opened repeatedly with a wrong key, the chip locks the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) of the car. Once it is locked, the car will never start, till the original key is used. So much so for the immobiliser… Sure, it will take care of your car’s security but that does not mean that you become reckless in performing your duties towards your car’s safety. Always park it in a safe place, roll up its windows and lock it properly. And yes, always keep its keys carefully.

posted by admin @ Monday, April 30th, 2007 Comments Off links to this post
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Heavy car discounts to boost sales

If you have been planning to buy a car, this is just the right time to do it. It is because most carmakers and dealers are doling out huge discounts or freebies on cars to generate more sales. So you’d better make hay while the sun shines.

Huge discounts are being offered on car prices due to an increase in the car loan interest rate. However, considering the fact that in India about 80% cars are still sold by means of a car loan, carmakers fear a plunge in sales in the coming days. So, they are offering discounts or freebies on cars to lure customers back to their showrooms.

The Hyundai Accent can be yours now for Rs. 70,000 less than its normal price. Besides low sales, Hyundai is offering this discount to make way for the Hyundai Verna, its new model. Also, the Hyundai Santro can be bought at a lower interest rate of 8.99%. Also on offer with it are freebies like an MP3 player, 3rd year warranty and exchange bonus.

Another car that is available with an attractive scheme is the Honda City ZX, the top-ranked mid-sized car. It can be yours now with a 100% finance scheme available for 84 months. An extended period to pay off the loan means lesser EMIs, which will suit the pocket of most customers.

You can buy the Tata Indigo LX DiCOR at a lower interest rate of 9.99% for a period of three years. General Motors is also offering customers an option of lower interest rates of around 10% or free services or accessories worth Rs 20,000 on Chevrolet Aveo. All other GM cars are also on offer at an interest rate of 10% only.
Small cars from Maruti Udyog will also cost cheaper now as the company has increased rebate on them from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 15,000 to reduce the cost of ownership.

So, if you have been planning to buy any of these cars, there can not be a better time than now to bring it home. It will not just be lighter on your pocket but you can avail of freebies and other attractive schemes as well.

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Common Rail Direct Injection

I have been planning to buy a car for some time now. Ever since I began research on the cars available in the market, I have been coming across the term CRDi or CRDe or DiCOR every now and then. I thought its better to do some research on ‘CRDi/CRDe/DiCOR’ as well and now that I know what it means, I want to share it with others. CRDi or CRDe or DiCOR is one and the same thing and stands for Common Rail Direct Injection (CRDi) engine. It is the latest state-of-the-art technology for diesel engines and suits passenger cars as well as commercial vehicles. It has become very popular and is being widely used in all kinds of vehicles around the world.

One of the main reasons for the increasing popularity of CRDi is its performance and fuel economy. A CRDi engine is based on direct injection technology and has common rails i.e. tubes which inject pressurised fuel directly into the engine.

The common rail connects all the injectors and contains fuel at a constant high pressure. A small amount of fuel is supplied to the engine before and after the actual supply of charge. The high pressure in the common rail ensures that upon injection, the fuel atomises to a very high degree and mixes consistently with the air, thereby leaving minimal unburnt fuel.

In a CRDi engine, fuel quantity, engine pressure and timing of fuel injection are controlled electronically. The injectors have variable control heads which ensure that a highly precise amount of diesel goes into each cylinder. The onboard computer makes sure that the fuel is injected at the just the precise moment. This significantly improves engine efficiency and reduces noise and vibrations as compared to the conventional diesel engines.

This is for the CRDi. But needless to say that you will understand it better if you know the basic functioning of an internal combustion engine.

posted by admin @ Tuesday, April 24th, 2007 Comments Off links to this post
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